Contestants at horse shows receive exhibitor numbers when their entries are processed, to identify each horse entered in the show. The contestant displays the appropriate number in each class in which the particular horse exhibits. When judging (placing) the contestants, the judges make their selections by noting the exhibitor numbers on their judging cards.
The exhibitor numbers are typically printed on or otherwise attached (such as by printing on sticky paper) to a card which may be made from, for example, heavy paper or cardboard, such as poster board. In Western saddle classes, a card containing the exhibitor number is usually displayed on each side of the horse by attachment to the saddle pad or saddle blanket by pinning, such as by a tie-tack arrangement.
Contestants in English saddle classes, however, have traditionally worn their exhibitor numbers on their backs. Accordingly, the number is visible to the judge only when the horse and rider are viewed from the rear. This is not a problem in English classes such as dressage, working hunter, and open jumping, where each horse is exhibited and announced individually. However, there are English classes in which many horses compete at the same time. For example, in "hunter under saddle" classes, the horses entered in the class (or a split of the class) all show at the same time at specified gaits along the rail, in clockwise and counter clockwise directions.
The horses in hunter under saddle classes are judged mainly by their performance (e.g., movements, gaits and responsiveness to the rider); however, a minimum of 20 percent of the judging is based on the physical condition of the horse and the "conformation" of the horse (i.e., how closely the horse resembles an "ideal" prototype quarter horse in physical appearance, carriage, and the like), as well as the appearance of the horse and rider together. In this competition, the judge views each horse in profile from the center of the ring to observe its way of going (performance) and its condition and conformation. Because the exhibitor numbers are worn on the backs of the riders, the judge must look up at the rider's back while the horse is moving away in order to note the exhibitor number and mark his/her judging card. Glancing from horse to number to card and back again creates considerable difficulty for the judges in keeping track of all of the horses and numbers, especially when similarly colored horses ridden by similarly garbed riders move in and out along the rail. At horse shows with a large number of entries and substantial prize money at stake, the hunter under saddle class competition frequently runs overtime, causing disruption in the show schedule, as judges are continually required to re-identify horses they mentally selected but whose numbers they were unable to record before they moved out of view. The hunter under saddle class competition is known to generate the largest number of complaints to the show management about errors in judging.
In recognition of the above-described problem, judges have requested of the American Quarter Horse Association judging committee that exhibitors in hunter under saddle classes be required to display their number on each side of the horse. However, until the present time, the judging committee has declined to pass the rule because of their belief that no suitable method is available to display the numbers on the sides of the horse that would not detract from the overall appearance of the horse and impair the judging of conformation.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a method of displaying exhibitor numbers on each side of a horse, especially in the English hunter under saddle class competition, that does not detract from the appearance of the horse and rider.